PULLMAN, Wash.- Katie Nyseth (Cheshire, Ore.) and Victoria Harrod (Nepean, Ontario), two members of the Washington State women's basketball team, were named Outstanding Juniors in the departments of biological systems engineering and human development, respectively for the 1999-2000 academic year.

Both Nyseth and Harrod served as captains of the 1999-2000 Cougar team and were named to the Pacific-10 All-Academic team.

Nyseth was also honored as the Outstanding Junior in the College of Agriculture.

"It's an honor to win these awards because my background is in agriculture," Nyseth said.- "I really like BSE and I'm really glad more athletes are choosing the major.- It's nice to see that athletes are starting to recognize BSE as a major."

Nyseth has a 3.86 cumulative grade point average and started 27 of 28 games for the Cougars last season.- Her 3.86 assists per game tied for sixth in the Pacific-10.

"Katie was at the top of the class as far as undergraduates go," Jim Harsh, an associate scientist in the department of agriculture, said.- "She turns in assignments early when she goes on the road to play basketball.- She is very conscientious and well organized."

Harrod, has posted a 3.96 cumulative GPA, and overcame a broken right arm she suffered in the first game of last season to average 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 13 games.- Her efforts earned her the team's Most Inspirational Player Award.

Harrod's professors, as well as her teammates, were impressed by her work ethic.

"Victoria does a great job of balancing athletics and academics," Tariq Akmal, an assistant professor of human development, said.- "She broke her arm and still managed to maintain her class work.- She is as enthusiastic a person as I've come across.- I think a lot of her and she is going to work on a senior project with me for the Honors College."

"The award I received is one for leadership," Harrod said.- "It is really neat because I pride myself in helping others.- I was surprised to be named an outstanding junior.- It is an honor to be recognized for my involvement in the community."

The contributions of Nyseth and Harrod on and off the court made an impression on WSU head women's basketball coach Jenny Przekwas as well.

"Katie and Victoria are two of the brightest athletes I have coached," Przekwas said.- Their commitment to academic achievement is admirable.- They exemplify what a coach would want in every student-athlete."

Both Nyseth and Harrod received cash awards as part of their honors.- Nyseth received $500 from the Capital Press, a weekly regional agricultural newspaper in Salem, Ore.- Harrod earned the $1,000 Magaret E. Nelson and Grace A. Kembel Scholarship from the department of human development.